Friday, November 8

Greetings, friends! It has been a reeeeeally long time since I've been here! I don't even know if anyone is still out there in blogland...however, I wanted to give you this bit of information: I am going to Haiti in January to provide clean water purification systems for two villages...(read more about it at the links below) Meanwhile, we are attempting to raise money for the trip via an art auction! Those of you who know me know my art is an eclectic modge podge of assorted painting, scrapbooking, jewelry making, etc. I am a "dabbler". Anyhoo, below are a few of the pieces that will be auctioned off...join us online tonight at 6 if you can! See you there!

Mission of Grace is hosting an online auction event to raise money for our January trip to Haiti!

Every penny of what's raised will go toward our trip to bring Clean
Water to Haiti in January! Let us know you're purchasing a gift and we
will include a gift card with information about our mission and
expresses our thanks for your donation!

Auction begins tomorrow, Friday, November 8 at 6 pm! If you live
locally (Mt. Vernon, IL and surrounding) you can pick up items in person
and save shipping costs! Otherwise, we will be glad to ship your items
to you! Woohoo! Will be posting more items as they go online!

Wednesday, July 11

It has been waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since I blogged anything of ANY consequence, therefore, I am going to make my hiatus "official" and revamp and rework the blog into something useful again. In the interim, there won't be any new or fresh posts from me, but all of the cool stuff I made while I still had some kind of creativity flowing will be here for your perusal.

I have kept up reading all of your blogs, I just don't always comment. However, the frienships I've made here I hope will remain. I'm working on a couple of other things in life...a children's book, REAL writing, and getting missions trips together for the fall and winter. I'll keep you informed via SOME method of internet media...Facebook, Twitter...SOMETHING.

Thanks for your support and patience all these years. I know I'm a real pain! Thanks for loving me anyway!

Wednesday, March 21

Greetings, friends! I have been away at my annual Lenten Silent Retreat (go here to read more about it) and this year came away with Prayer Flags.

I am always regenerated and refreshed in solitude, and as such, I have learned to bring along creative supplies for just such "bursts" of creativity! Last year I and the ladies created canvas bookmarks...memories of our time together with each other and Jesus. This year, we made prayer flags from the same canvas dropcloth! (I just LOVE using raw canvas and a dropcloth (sold for protecting from paint splatters) gives me yards and yards of raw, ravel-ly area to rip, tear, stain, paint, cut, fold, spindle and mutilate as I see fit!

You may remember, last year I used the raw canvas as the backdrop for my Lenten Art Projects:

And this year, I used it to make a set of prayer flags for each of the ladies at the retreat. The canvas drop cloth comes with edges bound and hemmed, so I simply cut 6 5.5" squares near the edge and did not cut through the binding...so that the flags will already be "hooked" together and ready to hang! I then used the few bottles of paint I brought (I had limited colors, and wanted the flags to be vibrant, so rather than paint a white or beige background, I went back to "Kindergarten Color Mixing 101" and made purple, sage green and coral (FYI: Fashionistas: A VERY "in" color this spring) Of course I had to have my red and aqua and orange completes the rainbow.

I then began to think of the things I pray for or "claim" for this year for my family: Rev. Samuel Rodriguez's words about 2011 being a time of "pruning and cutting back" (DEAR LORD not another year like THAT!) and 2012 a year of Promotion, Protection and Provision! I'll "claim that!" for my family!

And Health! Yes! This year will be a year of good health for my family and friends...

A year of blessing! YES, PLEASE LORD JESUS! (The little scrolls are scriptures pertaining to God's blessing and provision)

JOY! YES! I will CHOOSE joy each day and will live with an "attitude of gratitude" for every good thing in my life!

An Abundant Life! No more living in "lack!" This year is the year of abundance and bounty...MY GOD owns it all...

And my heartfelt, perpetual prayer, "Let there be peace on earth...and let it begin with me." Amen.

I then sprayed the flags with sealer to make them weatherproof! And now, dear Sister Wind, carry these prayers to God's ears!

Saturday, March 10

I have (yet again) been delivered a box of happiness via the incredible <<<<<>>>>(I've discovered via my under cover work with the Crafters Anonymous that this box did NOT come from Sandy...although there was a letter. And I THOUGHT the letter said "Sandy M" however, the writing is a bit like a pharmacist's and I can't say FOR CERTAIN that's what it says...if YOU (dear generous soul) WHOEVER you are, would like to "out" yourself and confess to this gift of glorious craft mania, please do so. I'd love to say thank you properly!)

Sandy at 521 Lake Street. (I think she must be on a cleaning spree...still (?) lol ) but I benefited from said spree with a box of assorted crafty goodness: papers, embellies, trims of all sorts, lots of borders and red and aqua...Sandy dear friend, you know JUST what I like! THANK YOU

In the meantime, as you may have "heard" I am cooking for Lent. One recipe (other than Thanksgiving meal with all the trim) has given me fits for as long as I can remember: the elusive No Bake Cookies. (You know, the oat and peanutbutter variety?) Do NOT MOCK ME! I have never made them with any success, and, like my pumpkin pie (and fudge) you have had to eat them with a spoon! However, feeling a bit more confident in the kitchen, and wielding my best kitchen PROWESS, I decided to tackle them. Behold, the results:

When these little morsels actually "set up" (or whatever it is they do when they become cookies and not blobs on a sheet) I HAD to celebrate! I made some little flags out of this fab new goodie purchased from Etsy:

27 fab little playing card size stickers...each has precut stickers on each sheet, circles, and rectangles. I got the brill idea from this woman ...

she SOOOOOO inspires me...with her colorful crochet...oh how I'd love to be so talented!

I went a little crazy "pinning" her stuff on my Pinterest Boards...I just LOVE ALL OF IT! Anyway, SHE is the one who found the little Etsy shope that sells the Masking Sticker Sets. And she made wee flags for some of her sweets, and I thought they were the most adorable things I'd ever seen...so I did likewise.

And I made a mini-bunting as well...for my beloved Irmi pincushion (via Elizabeth of Creative Breathing) girl and her little dog...YAY! Let's celebrate! Edible cookies you DON'T have to eat with a spoon! HUZZAH!

And the sticker sheets make the buntings and flags easy peasy...they are precut with circles and rectangles...

So you simply peel, fold, snip...peel, fold, snip...it is truly therapeutic...and just the thing when you're not "up to" a major creative event. Sometimes, I just like to do mindless crafting, you know? Something that doesn't take a great deal of creative thought, but keeps my hands busy while the hubs and I are watching TV...

Anyway, another successful cooking adventure...(I'm trying to remove the thought from my head, "It's about time for a cooking disaster...") Perhaps I'm on a roll?!

Be sure to check out my other blog to stay up to date on the meal du jour as well as the daily "state of the kitchen" address...lol

I SUPPORT

A LITTLE ABOUT ME...

I am a Christian Counselor by day, and an AltAred Art starving artist by night. My blog is an interpretation of the things that are most important in my life: family, art, spirituality, beauty. The whimsical and the odd. Altered art expresses best all that's in my heart. I find creating to be a very soulful kind of activity.